Photo by Stephen Whalen

A three-story dome gives the exterior visual drama and provides a lofty interior volume above the reading room.

San Diego's Central Library was meant to be an icon. With a shimmering three-story steel-covered dome "hovering" over the edifice, the completed building has met that objective, say Best Projects judges. The dome gives the exterior visual drama and provides a lofty interior volume above the reading room. The $153-million, LEED-Silver library has a 350-seat auditorium, 400-seat multipurpose room, center for teenagers, children's library, technology center, outdoor plaza and café and two underground parking levels. The nine-story library also contains two levels for charter-school use. Disadvantaged local contractors performed more than 20% of the trade work. Their crews learned to use high-tech tools, including scheduling through building information modeling.

Key Players

Contractor Turner Construction Co.

Owner City of San Diego

Lead Design Firm Rob Wellington Quigley | Tucker Sadler Architects

Structural Engineer Martin Libby Engineers Inc.

Civil Engineer Flores Lund Consultants

Mep Engineers SC Engineers; LSW Engineers